Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Texas

Re: protection of concept for a board game/tlevision game format

Yes & No.

Actually, you already have a copyright, it is automatic. Registration of the copyright is needed in order to have the federal court jurisdiction to enforce a copyright and to obtain statutory damages. Go to my website, www.burdlaw.com and click on copyrights and you will find lots of links to useful information.

A copyright, however, is probably not what you need. What you need to effectively protect the board game is a patent and a trademark. The patent might cover the methodology (rules, strategy, play action, etc.)if properly written. A trademark would cover the name of the game, which will be vitally important for you to protect. I also have lots of information on those topics on my website www.burdlaw.com.

Finally, although you may conisder this self-serving, you need to have your protection created by someone who is an expert at creating protections, namely a skilled intellectual property attorney. Get one who is an expert in all areas, so you don't miss something important in your protection scheme.

Good Luck and good searching